Last days of September

The working surface has some galactic markers:).
Clay components are starting to amass in the drying room.



Some were made with roller slabs, some hand made..
Cut over 100 various shapes and sizes under 6 cm.
I have yet to make the spacer/shaper pieces.
Trying for some edge texture....(found tool).


Second try at this challenge......
Extruded some coils again, using the cookie press.
Wrapped the coils onto a loose sponge/plastic covered support.



Once they had firmed up a bit I removed the sponge,connected the two pieces of coil and set them to dry on a piece of  firing brick.
The coil has since survived it's second night!
Today(Saturday) I used the wheel to pull a group of irregular cylindrical shapes for further development.



After the stress of working with that fine coil, a Hazelnut Truffle and coffee settle the nerves.:)

 Bit better pacing today. Made five forms.
Clay so thin it dried faster than I could deal with it,even when covered. Used slip with deflocculant for more stick factor.




Thin as a tortilla and no way as cooperative.
Experimented with inflating a clay bladder using a straw.
Added moisture to soften some plain body for extrusion tomorrow.




Some spirals survived drying overnight, but only a few major pieces made it off the paper supports.







Then the rest of the pieces flipped onto the floor:(

September 24/25th

 How fine can it be and still survive?
Now to explore attachment techniques.
Much of the clay was too stiff .
Adding moisture has it's own challenges.




Must speed up construction to account for rapid drying time.





 So many options(mercifully), so much to learn:)









Found retail outlet marketing mini- "sea -cucumbers" disguised as dog toys.

September 20th

Slabbed some plain clay..by hand, finished with the roller.

While the plain clay was firming up, I pinched out two small forms using the grogged clay. It reminded me of the graphite galaxies of  American artist Vija Clemins...the tiny fragments of grog drifting and shifting around and around.

Another interpretation could involve gingersnaps, a little low on shortning:). 


The plain slabbed clay has provided me with my weekend assignment
after it ended up in my recycle pail. More drawing/maquette needed to transform angular pieces into a shape with no reference to the american automotive industry:( Curses Chrysler!

Sept.19 Research and Development

Spent more time getting to know this clay.
Although I think the colour is striking, I am searching out how to highlight  the texture in the grogged version.
Set up a few small pieces to test how glaze will flow or pool on different surfaces.


Good search in the VIU Library today.
Found a current Canadian magazine of sculpture and criticism from Montreal:
"ESPACE sculpture" www.espace-sculpture.com
Informative,thoughtful and entertaining....a lot is translated:)
Helping me bridge the bit between mechanics and expression.

Interview with American painter Frank Stella. http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2012/09/18/wachtel-on-the-arts---frank-stella/

Day One VIU

Day One at VIU.

Registration finished,locker assigned,supplies on site.
1st great grandchild promised in exchange for parking permit.
Locker  and padlock number firmly in short term memory.





Wedged and weighed out some (very approximately 3 pounds) clay: half with grog, half without.
Using canvas covered boards to  prevent the brutally intense  Navahoe Wagon clay from colouring everything.



 Pre and post scrubbed squeezy machine to make samples for testing fired appearances...plain and glazed. Muscles and knowledge of leverage required.


Between the outside stairs and the indoor equipment, going to the gym just slipped a notch on my list:)




Thanks to Megan for heads up on cutting pieces with pin tool.
Three years is a big gap! Happy to see Scott, Pam, and Jane:)

                                    New names to remember: Candice,Megan,Jem. Glad to see Ben continue to enjoy painting.


Now the little test pieces are resting under cover in the drying room.

Made a quick trip to Parksville to get the clay:)
http://www.vipotterysupply.com/
I can see why they are popular suppliers....
Now I have 90 lbs of Navahoe Wheel cone 5,
half with grog, half without.
May have to split up the clay to move it around!:)

Sea Cucumber

In process

This year I assembled a collection of materials while thinking about sea cucumber locomotion and flexibility...(not size or colour).
This object is made of salvaged sewer pipe, plastic strapping, marine vinyl, furniture legs and beads painted "canuck blue", orange synthetic cord, and two different types of hair curlers.

In situ

Earlier explorations

Eelgrass I

A development near the local estuary gave me concern for the fragile eelgrass beds that are the nursery to so much of ocean life.  These paintings are acrylic on canvas.

Eelgrass II

Eelgrass III



Eel grass

                                             

 

 

 

 

Green algae

Daughter cells
 

Nautilus